SHOOT-THE-CHUTES

'Shoot-the-Chutes' is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Paul Boyton and Thomas Polk invented the earliest example in 1895 for Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. The ride was widely copied and "Chutes" rides were found a many amusement parks throughout the United States^[1], and even became the name of several amusement parks. While the original form of the ride is largely obsolete, modern log flume rides work on similar principles.

Contents

Historical Ride

Modern Ride

Locations and Names of Modern Chutes Ride

Locations and Names of Historical Chutes Ride

References

External links

Historical Ride

The flat bottom boat was pulled up the ramp by cable and turned around on a small turntable to be ready for the next load of passengers. In the original ride at Sea Lion Park, the passengers arrived at the top by elevator. The bottom of the ramp curved upwards, causing the boat to skip across the water until it comes to a stop. The boat was guided to a landing by a boatman on board. ^[2] The oldest existing of this type of ride is the Boat Chute, constructed in 1926 and 1927 located at Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Chattanooga Tennessee. The Boat Chute still operates today.^[3] An operating modern reproduction, The Pittsburg [sic] Plunge is currently in operation at Kennywood amusement park in Pennsylvania.

Modern Ride

The Shoot-the-Chute concept has evolved over time in the amusement park industry. All modern Shoot-the-Chute rides today feature a guide track after the descent down the chute into the pool of water that allows the boats to return to the loading platform -- completing a closed circuit track. Most modern Shoot-the-Chute rides usually consist of (though not limited to) an oval shaped layout or a figure-eight layout.
The most technologically advanced ride based on the Shoot-the-Chute concept is Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. It is presently the tallest and steepest water flume ride in the world. 24-passenger boats climb a 121-foot (36.8 m) lift-hill, round a curve, and descend a 115-foot (35 m) water chute at a staggering 77.8 degree slope. Upon landing below in the lagoon below, each of the ride's three seven-ton boats are capable of generating an amazing 180-degree, 45-foot (13.7 m) high splash that drenches riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride. It was the first water-based amusement park ride in the world to utilize an adjustable electromagnetic braking system to control the volume of the splash. Most rides require passengers to be at least 36 inches or taller.

Locations and Names of Modern Chutes Ride

★ Hydro--Oakwood Park UK

★ Tidal Wave--Thorpe Park UK

★ Aquaman (previously Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Over Texas USA

★ Boston Tea Party--Canobie Lake Park USA

★ Congo Falls--Kings Island USA

★ Escape from Pompeii--Busch Gardens Europe USA

★ Monsoon--Worlds of Fun USA

★ Pittsburg Plunge--Kennywood USA

★ Perilous Plunge--Knott's Berry Farm USA

★ Tanganyika Tidal Wave--Busch Gardens Africa USA

★ Mile High Falls--Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom USA

★ Shipwreck Falls--Darien Lake Theme Park Resort

★ Shipwreck Falls--Geauga Lake USA

★ Shipwreck Falls--Elitch Gardens USA

★ Snake River Falls--Cedar Point USA

★ Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Great America USA

★ Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Over Georgia USA

★ Tidal Force--Hersheypark USA

★ Tidal Wave--Six Flags Magic Mountain USA

★ Tidal Wave--Six Flags St. Louis USA

★ White Water Landing--Dorney Park USA

Locations and Names of Historical Chutes Ride

★ Sea Lion Park, Coney Island

★ Crescent Park, Riverside, R.I.

★ Idora Park, Oakland, California

★ Chutes Park, Los Angeles, California

★ Playland, San Francisco, California, originally known as Chutes-at-the-Beach

★ White City Amusement Park, Chicago, Illinois

References

1. Amusing America Exhibits of the San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
2. Stanton, Jeffrey (1998) Coney Island-Sea Lion Park. Retrieved 4 August 2007
3. The Boat Chute Lake Winnepesaukah

External links

★ O.P. Hopkins Rides Manufacturer

★ Film of Shoot-the-Chutes from the Library of Congress

★ Another film of Shoot-the-Chutes from the Library of Congress